Saint John Gabriel Perboyre
A great saint and martyr whom I just learned about is Saint John Gabriel Perboyre, or Jean-Gabriel Perboyre (1802-1840), whose memorial was September 11th.
He was a missionary to China. With youthful innocence, he described himself in a letter home as a curious sight: “my head shaved, a long pig-tail, stammering my new languages, eating with chopsticks.” He died by strangulation, tied to a cross. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II on June 2, 1996. No masses in his honor were permitted on that day in China.
May he continue to pray for the conversion of China.
A prayer of Saint John Gabiel:
O my Divine Savior,
Transform me into Yourself.
May my hands be the hands of Jesus.
Grant that every faculty of my body
May serve only to glorify You.
Above all,
Transform my soul and all its powers
So that my memory, will and affection
May be the memory, will and affections
Of Jesus.
I pray You
To destroy in me all that is not of You.
Grant that I may live but in You, by You and for You,
So that I may truly say, with Saint Paul,
"I live - now not I - But Christ lives in me."
A great saint and martyr whom I just learned about is Saint John Gabriel Perboyre, or Jean-Gabriel Perboyre (1802-1840), whose memorial was September 11th.
He was a missionary to China. With youthful innocence, he described himself in a letter home as a curious sight: “my head shaved, a long pig-tail, stammering my new languages, eating with chopsticks.” He died by strangulation, tied to a cross. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II on June 2, 1996. No masses in his honor were permitted on that day in China.
May he continue to pray for the conversion of China.
A prayer of Saint John Gabiel:
O my Divine Savior,
Transform me into Yourself.
May my hands be the hands of Jesus.
Grant that every faculty of my body
May serve only to glorify You.
Above all,
Transform my soul and all its powers
So that my memory, will and affection
May be the memory, will and affections
Of Jesus.
I pray You
To destroy in me all that is not of You.
Grant that I may live but in You, by You and for You,
So that I may truly say, with Saint Paul,
"I live - now not I - But Christ lives in me."
Redeemed by Our Savior, I work out my salvation with fear and trembling in Pohang, South Korea, where I live with my wife, daughter, and son and teach English at a science and technology university. Baptized a Methodist and raised a Missouri Synod Lutheran in Buffalo, NY, I spent six years as a guest of the Anglican Communion before being received by the Grace of God into the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church on the Feast of Saint Andrew, my patron, anno domini 2002.
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